Last month, on November 27th, 2019, almost 11 months since I began my “Green Bin Challenge” we pulled the green bin out to the curb for the first time this year!

January 1st, 2019, I decided to see how long it would take me (and my family of four) to fill our 95 gallon curbside trash bin.  We knew that over the past three years, we had widdled our way down to about an 8 gallon bag of trash per week. For that three year period, I was always filling the “trash jar” in my head. “There goes my jar,” I’d think every time I forgot to say “no straw, please” or received an unexpected gift in lots of packaging, or forgot to plan ahead and had to stop for a quick bite. So, I already knew, the zero waste “trash jar” was out of the question. But a “toward” zero waste big green bin in a year? We just might be able to make that happen.

So we started the year with an empty green bin and a challenge. I set us up with a few guidelines and dealt with issues as they came along. Since my last blog entry, one major change occurred that had the potential to derail my challenge! Because of the changes in China nearly two years ago, my town of Cary, NC made the decision to change recycling vendors from Sonoco to Waste Management. With that new contract, Cary no longer allows gable top cartons (milk, OJ, etc) or Tetra Packs (soups, broth, drink boxes) in the recycling bin. So, sometime this summer when I learned about this change my first thought was, “There goes my bin!” (We drink a LOT of oat milk.) But I quickly learned that though my town was no longer taking cartons, my county still was, and I could simply collect them and drive them to my nearest convenience center, and that’s what I’ve done.

So back to November 27th. It was sometime the week before that I put that last bag in. My husband was convinced we could squeeze in more but with company gathering here for Thanksgiving (we hosted 15!) I had my doubts. According to the EPA, household trash increases more than 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. That’s an additional 1 million tons a week! Then something happened that left no question that our bin was done. Our dishwasher went out! It had already been repaired a couple of times over the last few years and we had been dragging it along, but this was the last straw. Sadly, its true; they just don’t make them like they used to! (This seems like a great place to plug an amazing organization called Repair Cafe. I have taken many items in and worked with the volunteers to repair them for only the cost of materials. Find one or start one near you!) 

So, my husband switched out the dishwasher and stuffed the old tubes into whatever space we still had in our bin. This was frustrating to him because the new washer, although it was the same brand (Bosch, made in NC!) had a completely different connections to both water and electricity. We not only had to buy a new washer, but new connections as well. And, while Lowe’s offered to take away the enormous amounts of polystyrene (aka styrofoam) that it was packaged in, I chose to keep the styrofoam seek out an option for that didn’t send it to landfill. (That quest will be a topic for another blog, whenever I get to it, probably a long time from now!) And the  dishwasher? In NC, “white goods” are banned from the landfill. Retailers are required to collect $3 recycling fee to cover the cost to recycle them. More on that here.

Back to November 27th…we rolled the bin to the curb and the whole family waited to hear the truck banging away in the neighborhood.  I posted photos of my full bin on my personal Facebook Page, and on the Toward Zero Waste Cary Group the accomplishment. I’m sure more than a few people thought I was certifiable, but I took a cue from a sweet neighbor who, instead, used the label “next level” to describe us. I’ll take it! 

I got loads of comments and questions, and quite a few PMs, so I will be answering all those questions in a seperate blog called My Green Bin Challenge; FAQs!

When we finally heard the truck late in the afternoon, we all ran out with cameras in tow. Sam, our amazing garbage truck driver must have thought we were crazy to all be standing out there filming the garbage pickup!  In true Sam-like fashion, he took the opportunity to wish us a very Happy Thanksgiving, and it was!

So what did I learn in my year of collecting my trash? It certainly made me think a lot about the impact one person can have. Maybe my one green bin is not going to save the planet, but it just might save me. Instead of feeling helpless against the never-ending tide of trash that simply existing creates, I can do something to change that tide. I’ve aligned my values and actions feels good. 

I’ve also learned that I don’t have to be perfect in my zero waste journey. Yes, I knew this, but seeing the trash accumulate over a year really brought this home.  There is a balance to consider. Without it, you can drive yourself, and everyone around you crazy! Mindfulness, bit of effort, and building a few solid habits go a long way to making an impact on the impact we make on our world. 

I hope that my green bin challenge will inspire others to see waste differently. To consider what they use and throw away. To consider what it would take to make a wider social impact and to be more mindful of their personal impacts. Afterall, mindfulness is really what the toward zero waste journey is all about. Mindfulness that leads to intentionality.  

Toward Zero Waste would like to invite you to do your own green bin challenge! Can you stretch your garbage bin to two weeks, a month, 3 months? It’s a great way to get mindful about your waste and find ways to decrease landfill contributions!  It is also a great way to inspire others to become more mindful, too!

To join the challenge, sign up here.  You will receive encouragement from us and have a place to share zero waste wins, frustrations, encouragement and questions!